Chinese Intellectual Property Law Research Articles

Enthusiastic claimants, reluctant courts: The empirical and critical analysis of punitive damages in Chinese intellectual property law

AbstractThe availability of punitive awards varies across different common law jurisdictions. In recent years, China, as a civil law jurisdiction, has progressively introduced a comprehensive punitive damages system in Intellectual Property (IP) law in recent years. To investigate how this common law product functions in the civil law system, this paper scrutinizes the evolution and functions of punitive damages and depicts the map of punitive damages in Chinese IP law. Then this paper reports and analyses 657 IP judgments involving the application of punitive damages that were tried and decided in all parts of mainland China by all levels of courts from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022. Our empirical data shows that punitive damages are frequently sought by claimants, yet courts are reluctant to award them due to the complexities in determining the basis for calculation and judges' reluctance towards detailed legal reasoning. Furthermore, a critical analysis of the application of punitive damages in IP trials is provided, critiquing the court's preference for statutory damages, the complexity in determining the basis and multipliers for calculation, and the strict standard of proof, which accounted for the small portion of punitive damages awarded in judicial practices.

Protecting Product Designs through Design Patents and Copyright Law in China

This paper argues that a designer with product designs in China, should obtain multiple protections through the intellectual property rights and related laws. This paper focuses on a specific aspect of Chinese intellectual property law related to design protection: design patents and copyright law. It aims to introduce the current legal framework of the Chinese Patent Law and Copyright Law and highlight the different standards in the protection of design patents, artistic works and works of applied art through real cases. Additionally, the paper evaluates and compares design patent protection and copyright protection in various areas, such as protectable subject matter, terms of protection, and infringement determination. This paper also explains that dual protection for a single product design is reasonable under both the Patent Law and Copyright because no evidence shows that Chinese law prohibits such protection. Ultimately, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law is likely to offer residual protection for product designs with “well-known” status. Therefore, the multiple protections provided by design patents, copyright law and unfair competition law are justified.

Protection of Design Patents in China and Comparison with European Union Law: How Foreign Companies Can Protect Their Design Patents in China

This paper is mainly focused on a specific aspect of Chinese intellectual property law: design patents and utility models related to foreign companies, especially in automotive and fashion industries. It aims to analyze and examine the protection of design patents and utility models featuring in foreground real cases in China and involving foreign companies, especially European and Italian companies. Holders of intellectual property rights and possible solutions to their cases are the focus and objective of this paper: how foreign companies can face these issues through the existing Chinese intellectual property law and, when Chinese law is not satisfactory enough or when there is a lack, trying to find new possible solutions and suggestions which might be beneficial for foreign companies. Considering interests and concerns which involve foreign companies and their products in the subject matter, Chinese intellectual property law has evolved in the past few years in order to safeguard foreign companies from infringement of their rights, which became quite frequent. Currently the aim of Chinese intellectual property law is not only to prevent lawsuits between foreign and local companies, but also the infringement itself by local companies. Comparing Chinese intellectual property law with European provisions concerning intellectual property rights system, the objective is trying to understand the differences and mostly the advantages that one system can show more than the other one, finding new strategies and remedies, such as updates and solutions that might be useful to insert in the current Chinese intellectual property system and which might be efficient and functional for foreign companies’ business in China as well as to protect their intellectual property rights in the best way.

The Local Snake v. The Mighty Dragon: Understanding Problems of Chinese Intellectual Property Law

This paper dicusses current Chinese Intellectual Property law and issues involving enforcement. The paper discusses different cultural and economic reasons for Chinese policy.